It was a good night for the English clubs on Wednesday as both Chelsea and Liverpool secured three points from their away trips in Matchday 3. Chelsea had substitute Michy Batshuayi to thank for striking late at Ajax while Liverpool eased to a 4-1 win in Genk with a double from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Elsewhere Inter Milan secured a potentially huge three points against rivals for qualification Borussia Dortmund while Barcelona edged past Slavia Prague in the Czech capital.
Napoli edged a topsy-turvy encounter in Salzburg 3-2 with a brace from Dries Mertens cancelling out another brace from teenager Erling Braut Haaland before Lorenzo Insigne's late winner. Lyon's miserable run continued with a 2-1 defeat at Benfica with a horrible error from goalkeeper Anthony Lopes doing the damage.
Meanwhile Marcel Sabitzer's stunner gave RB Leipzig all three points in a 2-1 win over Zenit and Jonathan Ikone struck a late leveller to hand Lille their first Champions League point at home to Valencia.
Match highlights
Goal of the night - Marcel Sabitzer
With his side chasing a winner having drawn themselves level against Zenit, RB Leipzig's Marcel Sabitzer comes up trumps with the most satisfying of strikes.
The Austrian waits for the ball to come to him, controls and unleashes a wonderful strike that arrows perfectly into the postage stamp. It could hardly be more 'top corner'.
Star man - Dries Mertens
A certified Napoli legend, Dries Mertens had himself a night to remember for the Neapolitans in Salzburg. First he gave Napoli the lead with a sensational near-post strike that left the goalkeeper with no chance.
And then he lashed home in the second half to put his side back in front with a ruthless finish before teeing up what proved to be the winner for his team-mate Lorenzo Insigne.
Even more special though, Mertens overtook the great Diego Maradona on the Napoli all-time scorers charts with his brace.
Quote of the night - Jurgen Klopp
"Probably last year we'd have drawn or lost that game" - Jurgen Klopp
After his first Champions League group-stage away win as Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp reflects on a "job done" in Genk. Liverpool lost all three of their away trips in last season's group despite winning the trophy.
Stat attack
Another night, another Lionel Messi record. With his opener against Slavia Prague, Messi has now scored against 33 different Champions League opponents - drawing level with Raul and Cristiano Ronaldo as the players to have scored versus the most.
And in a signal of his remarkable longevity, the goal means Messi has now scored in 15 straight Champions League campaigns - from 2005/06 to 2019/20 - all with Barcelona.
15 - Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has become the first player in Champions League history to score at least once in 15 consecutive seasons in the competition. Longevity. pic.twitter.com/mWxv6tLnJZ
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) October 23, 2019
Picture of the night
Slavia Prague's Jan Boril is left floored and with his face in the grass after attempting to challenge Frenkie De Jong. The mercurial Barcelona midfielder remains in possession having embarrassed his opponent with a lovely piece of skill.
Up next
Thursday's Europa League fixtures
Porto v Rangers - (BT Sport 3, 17:15)
Partizan v Man United - (BT Sport 2, 17:30)
Arsenal v Vitoria - (BT Sport 2, 20:00)
Celtic v Lazio - (BT Sport Extra 5, 19:45)
Slovan Bratislava v Wolves - (BT Sport ESPN, 17:30)
BT Sport shows every game in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League proper, 52 live Premier League games per season, selected Emirates FA Cup fixtures up to and including the final and a host of Ladbrokes Premiership, Vanarama National League, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and FA Women's Super League action.
Not yet a subscriber? Simply choose your preferred option from our wide range of sign-up packages and we'll get you set up with BT Sport in just 15 minutes.
